9.29.2015

How do you beat the LA heat, fly to New Hampshire. LA 92 today, Hancock NH 74. I am visiting with Linda and enjoying the cool weather and beautiful New England countryside. Fall colors are creeping in. The trees on wet, boggy ground are the first to show off. Linda tells me that Oct 8th will be the peak of the fall colors, which means that hordes of peepers will travel north clogging the local byways.

Its begins

9.17.2015

Last August my sister received devastating news, she had a brain tumor the size of a lemon. Dr. Steiner, neurosurgeon extraordinaire, did the surgery and thought he got it all.
Well, the good news is that he did. Wendy met with Dr. Steiner today to go over her recent MRI.

9.16.2015

Finally made it to the yummy Kogi food truck. I have always enjoyed food trucks and think they have some the best food anywhere.

My sister Wendy holding our place at the front of the line

Chicken Taco, 4th fav and Spicy Pork, 3rd fav.

"Chicken marinated in a light ginger-soy marinade and
grill twice to caramelize the way good chicken should." "Our special blend of pork belly, butt and
shoulder is massaged with our sweet and spicy gochujang marinade and dialed
back with a lusciously subtle heat."

9.07.2015

Spending a wonderful Labor Day weekend with my son's family. My granddaughters are amazing. I need one of those t shits "My grandchildren are cuter than yours".
We went Ardenwood, an historic working farm near Hayward. George Washington Patterson began farming this land in 1857. Labor Day weekend there was lots to see and do.

9.02.2015

My brother Don, a retired vintner keeps is hand in by teaching an online wine making class for UC Davis extension and making
wine for his personal consumption. He buys his zinfandel grapes from a small
two acre vineyard. Usually the 1.5 to 2 ton harvest will fill two bins, but this year it was only 0.4 tons, half a bin.

Checking the temperature

Checking Brix (density). Brix decreases as sugar is consumed by the yeast and alcohol is produced. Don is checking to see if the Brix has stopped changing, which indicates fermentation has ceased.

And finally the taste test.

He pressed the grapes yesterday and he will have 1 to 2 barrels of Zinfandel.

Welcome

I am retired from an eclectic career, construction worker, science teacher and corporate photographer living full time in my 2002 Trek named Serenity. She is named after the space ship in the Firefly TV series.
I am boondocking my way down the back roads of North America enjoying the good life and sampling the local cuisine. My wanderlust comes from my mother’s love of travel and moving often when I was younger. My Dad built dams and we moved every few years. I have lived in CA, WA, OR, WV, & AZ. Construction is in my blood and today I enjoy participating in Habitat for Humanity builds. I also like to travel, fishing, hiking, geocaching, kayaking, cooking, museums and movies. I read Mysteries/adventure books and listen to smooth jazz & 60’s rock and roll